Food Fact

So I was talking to Stacy the other day and I told her that I was currently in four culinary classes. She asked me if I would send her an email every once in a while with helpful tips or facts. So I decided I might as well post them on this sight so everyone can hear them (unless you would prefer I don't)... anyway, sorry if they are common sense or pretty obvious it is nice to have a reminder or it might strike a question. Please feel free to ask questions too, it will help us all learn. Well then enough said lets get to the point.....

I am currently enrolled in Culinary Nutrition so I thought I would start there with giving you a fact.

*When purchasing whole wheat bread, be aware that titles are deceiving, even if a title had the words whole wheat it does not mean it is whole wheat. Also if a bread is brown in color, it does not mean it is whole wheat (molasses is added to white bread to appear whole wheat). So how do you tell... the list of ingredients is a useful tool. When ingredients are listed the are ordered by weight. Therefore the items at the beginning of the list have the highest quantity. This meaning you should see the words whole wheat flour as the first ingredient. 

My other class is Safety and Sanitation so here are a few fact from there.

*There first one I have to mention should be obvious, but most people just don't think about it. Plus it has to do with a food that most people make for large gatherings. Potato salad... it's just asking for bacteria to start growing and since I have been in this class I have heard too many stories of illnesses because of this food. Let me just say that when you make potato salad please please please cool ingredients before you mix things together. When you take warm potatoes and warm eggs and mix them with mayo and all the other good stuff. It makes the whole mixture warm. Most people than put it in the large bowl to cool in the fridge, but with all that warm food so close, it just became a nice warm place for bacteria to grow. It would take a long time for it all to cool properly in the large bowl, plus you are than just going to take it out and let it sit longer at the picnic. So just cool your ingredients and put them in a shallow dish so cooling is distributed evenly and thoroughly. 

Ok well I feel like this is really long so I will be back with more facts another time... and feel free to ask questions!